I've become emboldened by the chatter on the pound, and did some searching for specific coupons yesterday, and after my 5th try, I hit the jackpot. Vlasic brand relish was on sale at Ultra-Foods, a small IL & IN chain that often has good deals. Well, I was on a mission to see what could be bought for free, as Ultra was having a 12 for $10 sale. got out my calculator, that comes to $.84 per item and it included eggs, bread, condiments, Pringles, Chef Boardee - 2 pages of their ad was devoted to this sale! Well, that was a good deal on eggs in my book, so I figured if I'm going there for eggs, let me see what else I can find for FREE - or at least really cheap. My vlasic coupon was for $1.00 off any pickle, relish, etc. so I grabbed 5 jars of relish (potato salad anyone?) for.....FREE! I love free, it's my favorite price. Here's how the trip went:

Cherry-picking is a time honored profession, one to which I was born. A cherry-picker is someone that goes into a store (any store) and buys only what is on sale. Last night was triple stop cherry pick for me. I started off at Dominicks (Safeway to most of you) for their deal on boneless rib-eyes. Also noticed tons of mark-downs throughout the store, probably because there were so few shoppers. We only noticed 2 other shoppers during our stop and the register was manned by the store manager. More on that later.....Next we stopped at Jewel, another quick cherry-pick. Yogurt on sale 10 for $6 with a $1/any 4. Will try to find that coupon again, think I found on someone's blog and printed off 2 (the limit), then had DH print off 2 more from his job. The coupon is good til 10/14/2008, so this will be fabulous for hounding.Finally, decided to wrap it up with Caputo's and more $.99 lb. brats, some tortillas (A staple in my house), and some chips.Here's how my totals breakdown:Dominick's8 Safeway pudding at $.22 each = $1.767.25 lbs. rib eyes @ $1.99/lb. = 14.44Total (including tax) = 16.48Saved = $23.35 or 59%

Last night I decided to give a relatively new store a second chance. Caputo's recently joined our area, it's marketed as an ethnic market/supermarket, with a large variety of ethnic foods. I only went in once before, during the grand opening, and had been less than impressed with their pricing, though the store was neat, clean, bright, and the merchandise plentiful and fresh. On the advice of a friend, I went in last night and was so glad I did! Here's how the shopping went:12 lbs. brats @ $.99/lb. - $11.888 pkgs. gravy mix 2/$1 - $4.001 red bell pepper ($.69/lb.) - $.262 cloves garlic ($.69/lb.) - $.48Vidalia Onion ($.79/lb.) - $.54Cilantro 3/$1 - $.33Total OOP (including tax) $17.75Saved $36.36Percent Savings 67%

-$5/$25 purchase-$3 off your next order (OYNO)-$20 OYNO (brought in coupon with prescription for that)Total = -$1.38They paid me $1.38 to take all that stuff! Can you believe it?!?!?!

I had to come up with some way to use the pasta sauce (veal parmesan, pizza sauce, etc.) since I make my own pasta sauce from scratch. Will be giving much of this stuff to family members, or will donate what isn't needed.

I never would have believed this was a lowfat recipe if I was told that, but I found this recipe in a cookbook called Low-fat and loving it, but I have modified this from it's original form. If you like onions, feel free to add more than I have listed, I like the flavor of the onion, but dislike large hunks of it, so I have triple the mushrooms and omitted much of the onion called for in the original recipe. I typically serve this with corn on the cob and a simple salad. A warning though: I have never had leftovers from this recipe.

I snagged a great deal at WAGS yesterday. They had Bic pens (8 pk.) 2/$1. Online and in the Sunday inserts there was a coupon for $1/2. That was great, FREE pens. They also had Hershey's Bliss chocolates on sale $3 a bag, with in store coupon of $2/2 bags, plus manufacturers coupon of $1 a bag. Total = $1 a bag. So I walked out happy with 4 bags of chocolates and 12 pkgs. of pens for.....$4.61. I'll put most of the chocolates away for Christmas stocking stuffers. I still have 4 coupons left for the chocolates, so if I have time on my way home from work, I'll pick up some more (didn't want to be too greedy the first time through).

I'm planning a quick hounding tomorrow at WAGS (Walgreens for short). I have oodles of coupons for $1/any 2 BIC stationery items, and BIC pens are 2/$1. I smell (picture bassett hound with it's nose in the air, sniffing for the scent) FREE! Also they have Hershey's Bliss chocolates on sale, which I have some $1 off Q's for. On sale 2/$4, minus $1 off = $1 a bag. Great deal on Christmas stocking stuffers. My favorite gifts to give are gift baskets - I just love doing baskets of little things people need/enjoy/love/can use. Christmas stockings and Easter baskets are some all time favorites for me. I'm going to check their website and see if I missed anything good, check back with ya later-

Add all ingredients to crockpot except pasta. Cook on low for 8-12 hours. Let sit overnight for 8-10 hours. Cook on low for 4 hours or til hot, add noodles, cook an additional hour. The longer you let it cook, the more the veggies will thicken into a hearty rich broth. If you need helping thickening the broth, add additional corn starch or instant mashed potatoes.

Mix well all but chips. Stir in chips. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 9x3" log, slightly flattened on top. Bake for on prepared cookie sheets for 20-25 minutes or til lightly golden on top.

Remove from cookie sheet and cool 5-10 minutes. With a serrated-edge knife, cut the dough into 16-20 slices, roughly 1/4" to 1/2" thick. Place cut side down on cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes or til lightly golden brown.

Mix well meat, canned ingredients, and salt and pepper. Top with prepared mashed potatoes and layer cheese over top. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or til cheese is melted or cook on high in microwave for 10-15 minutes til cheese is completely melted.

Mix well all but chips. Stir in chips. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 9x3" log, slightly flattened on top. Bake for on prepared cookie sheets for 20-25 minutes or til lightly golden on top. Remove from cookie sheet and cool 5-10 minutes. With a serrated-edge knife, cut the dough into 16-20 slices, roughly 1/4" to 1/2" thick. Place cut side down on cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes or til lightly golden brown. While warm, top with drizzle.

Yield - 32 - 40 cookies

Drizzle:

1/3 C. milk1/2 tsp. extract1/2 C. powdered sugar

Mix well, mixture should be thin. With a spoon, lightly drizzle over warm cookies. Cool and store in an air-tight container.

Last Christmas, I was bemoaning my lack of creativity in my cookie selection for my family. I had made the usual sugar cookies, oatmeal raisin/craisin cookies, and some swirled chip cookies, even some spiced nut bars, but was looking for something different, but still in tune with the holiday season. I asked my hubby for an idea, and much to my surprise he responded with, "What about using Egg Nog?" I was stunned, he hates eggnog (on a good day), but the idea was brilliant. So I searched through 4 cookbooks til I found a recipe I could make the right substitutions on and a new tradition was born - the cookies were a huge hit, and I can't wait to make them again this holiday season - though this time I'm making a double or triple batch.

For a while now, shopping for deals has been referred to as hounding in my family. As in, sniffing out the good deals. My last visit to cvs was certainly no exception. Armed with Coop (My coupon organizer that folds into an orversized-looking clutch) and my hubby, I grabbed 6 boxes of Kleenex, 6 CoverGirl foundations, Bic 3 razors, shaving cream, and Speedstick for men. Total OOP for 2 separate transactions: $11.38. Not my lowest total, but I'm getting better.

Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 13x9" baking dish.Mix well all ingredients except fruit and nuts. Stir in final ingredients.Spread evenly into prepared baking dish, top with additional nuts.Dust with cinnamon sugar.Bake for 24-27 minutes.Cool and cut.

Nothing can beat this treat in the steamy, sticky summer days. Goes great with ice cream or as a stand alone dessert. Dust with powdered sugar for a decadent look, or drizzle with a sweet simple syrup flavored with lemon.

Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 13x9” pan.Mix well all but last 2 ingredients. Stir in final ingredients.Spread evenly in pan, top with additional nuts (if desired).Bake 23-26 minutes.Cool completely and cut.Yield = 36 bars3.5 grams of fat

Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 13x9” pan.Mix well all but last 3 ingredients. Stir in final ingredients.Spread evenly in pan, top with 2 T. of flaked coconut and additional almonds (if desired).Bake 23-26 minutes.Cool completely and cut.Yield = 36 bars1.5 grams of fat

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About Me

Hi, I'm Annie - a 30-something, Chicagoland almost-foodie that loves spending less, but I'm big on flavor.
I started this blog to catalog my recipes and make it easier to share my favorite eats and treats.
I try to make recipes that are easily affordable, but make no mistake, I want full flavor on a tight budget.